ridgewood real estate: Why Do Ridgewood Short Sales Negotiators Break The Rules? - 10/27/11 01:54 AM
Ridgewood NJ – An agent with the Stop Foreclosure Institute recently had a short sale negotiator lie to them. We have spent the last 6 months figuring out all the rules for short sales on different loan types.
The rules are different for an FHA Short Sale, a VA Short Sale, and a Fannie Mae Short Sale. This was an FHA loan. Here’s what happened.
FHA puts out a letter called “Mortgagee Letter 2008-43.” It details exactly how the banks is supposed to handle a short sale on an FHA loan.
This letter is 16 pages long and gives them specific … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sales: Should you be embarrassed to short sale? - 10/13/11 03:53 AM
Ridgewood NJ – Many people are embarrassed that they are short selling their house. They feel like they are somehow being dishonest or shady. Neither one of those is true. A lot of the people short selling today never had a blemish in their credit. They lived perfect, responsible financial lives. Then the real estate market crashed and left them owing way more than their home was worth.
Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure.
For years everyone had told them that couldn’t happen. Many of those people also lost their job for … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sale Question: I’m In A Jam With Two Mortgage Companies Fighting Over Money - 10/11/11 06:36 AM
Ridgewood NJ – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from another agent named Bonnie. Here was her question.
“On my short sale, the first mortgage gave me a price and a net they would allow. The title company put together the closing documents and paid the first more than the minimum net they needed.
Then, I offered the second mortgage what ended up being 12% of their loan. They are owed 76K, I offered 9600. Here is the problem. Now, they want 15K and are saying that is their final offer.
I do not think the first will allow … (1 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sale Question: I Have A Moral Dilemma. What Should I Do? - 10/10/11 04:28 AM
Ridgewood NJ – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from another agent named Beckie. Here was her question.
I have been waiting on my lender to approvce or deny my short sale for 7 months. We finally received an answer last week in form of a counter offer to the price.
The buyer was offering to pay $315,000. The lender countered at $345,000. The buyer is not willing to pay any more than $315,000. My agent told him that he will try my best to negotiate at that price.
Before my agent could send the comps to the lender, … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: How To Ensure Accurate Appraisals And A Successful Ridgewood Short Sale - 10/06/11 02:28 AM
Ridgewood NJ – The biggest threat to your short sale is a high appraisal. Which is why your agent needs to make sure the appraisal is accurate.
Here is the process your agent needs to follow to ensure an accurate appraisal.
Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure.
The person doing the appraisal doesn’t understand why the home is selling for a specific sales price. They don’t understand why buyers are only willing to pay X. That is why your agent must explain that to them.
First, your agent should always meet … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Why Your Agent Should Check That Appraisals Are Accurate For Your Ridgewood Short Sale - 10/05/11 01:05 AM
Ridgewood NJ – The biggest threat to your short sale is a high appraisal. Which is why your agent needs to make sure the appraisal is accurate.
There are a lot of opinions on how to ensure the appraisal is correct and accurate. You need to check and make sure your agent is willing to do the extra work.
Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure.
I will tell you what happened to an agent that decided it was too much work. This agent decided not to do the extra work. Then, short … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sale Question: Can My Lender Force Me To Repay Them? - 09/30/11 03:16 AM
Ridgewood NJ – A lot of homeowners want to short sale and walk away from the upside down debt. They don’t feel that it is their fault the housing market crashed.
We get the following questions a lot.
“If I short sale, then how likely is it that my lender will sue me to repay them?”
“Will my lender garnish my wages or take money out of my bank account?” So I will answer those questions in today’s post.
Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure.
The answer is that it is unlikely … (3 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sale Question: Why Does My Lender Want My Last 2 Pay Stubs? - 09/29/11 01:53 AM
Ridgewood NJ – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Amit. Here was his question.
“Why does my lender need copies of my last 2 pay stubs? Are they hoping to garnish my paycheck? I am concerned that if I give it to them, then they will use it to garnish my paycheck.
They have said if they don’t get them, then they will not approve the short sale. What should I do? Amit.”
Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure.
Here was our answer. Amit, we are not lawyers and … (3 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sale Question: Do I Need To Disclose Anything Wrong With My House? - 09/28/11 04:19 AM
Ridgewood NJ – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from Will. Here was his question.
“I am thinking of short selling my house. There are some problems with the house. I know that most home buyers get a home inspected before they buy it.
Do I have to tell them about the problems? Or, should I leave them for the inspector to find? Will.”
Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure.
Here was our answer. Will, we would disclose everything to the home buyers. It doesn’t do you any good to … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Is It Better To Buy A Ridgewood Short Sale Or Wait Until After The Bank Has Foreclosed? - 09/26/11 02:03 AM
Ridgewood NJ – Some people think they can go around a homeowner and buy a home directly from the bank. “The seller has to submit our offer to the bank because the bank owns the house”, they tell us.
They assume that they can sidestep the seller and buy the house directly from the bank. The truth is that until the bank forecloses on the house, the seller owns it and they are in the driver’s seat.
Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure.
If the seller works with another buyer on a … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sale Myth: There Are No Rules Or Guidelines For Short Sales - 09/23/11 03:33 AM
Ridgewood NJ – I recently saw an article written by a prominent, so called short sale expert. In the article, this supposed expert says the only rules for short sales are HAFA, but even those rules are subject to interpretation.
That is like saying that there are no traffic laws. If that were the case, then everyone could drive 100 MPH and never get a ticket.
That is like saying that the court system has no rules. (Go ask a judge or lawyer and you’ll find out the truth about that pretty fast.)
Click here to discover how other sellers successfully … (1 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Who Pays The Costs In A Ridgewood Short Sale? - 09/21/11 03:35 AM
Ridgewood NJ – You may wonder why a sales contract says the seller pays for certain costs and yet the bank covers the costs. Here is how it works.
The sales contract may have a certain clause say: “Seller to pay title and seller’s documentary stamp taxes.” How does the bank pay that cost if it says the seller is paying it?
Click here to discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale and avoided foreclosure.
In traditional real estate (non short sale), certain costs are normally paid by the seller and other costs by the buyer. For example, the … (2 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sales: More Reasons Why Short Sales Fail - 09/19/11 03:45 AM
Ridgewood NJ – We recently gave a couple of common reasons that short sales fail. Today, we will go thru a few more reasons.
(To recap, here were the reasons we put in our previous blog post. Reason #1: The sales price is lower than the lender wants. The lender thinks the home is worth more than it is selling for and won’t approve the short sale unless the price is for the value they have.
Reason #2: The tenant doesn’t allow the home to be showed. Many tenants do not want the home to be shown to buyers because … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sales: Why Is This Lender Lying To This Homeowner? - 09/16/11 02:27 AM
Ridgewood NJ – The Stop Foreclosure Institute recently received a question from David. Here was his question.
“My lender ******** Bank verbally told me that my short sale was approved. However, now they are now telling me that Fannie Mae did not approve the sale.
They gave me an option to pay $3,000 upfront and to agree to pay off deficiency. I just cannot afford this option. The pay off amount on the mortgage is $122,000.
The buyer is offering $99,000. The bank’s appraiser said the house is worth $92,000. The Buyer has been waiting to buy the house for 11 … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Bergen County Loan Mod Help: How To Reduce Your Payments Without A Loan Modification - 05/03/11 02:41 AM
The house sold for 130k! They would have made more money just cutting the homeowner's payments in half! This kind of stupidity gets on my nerves.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
Some people have mentioned a strategy that can help you reduce your payments without a mod. A person with two mortgages just stops paying the 2nd mortgage. I won't recommend that you try it.
Here is why some people have said this strategy works. Let's say John owns a house worth 200k. He owes his 1st mortgage 200k, and his … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sales: How To Negotiate Away Promissory Notes - 04/11/11 03:15 AM
Ridgewood NJ - If your loan has Private Mortgage Insurance, also known as PMI, then there is a high likelihood that they will request that you sign a promissory note.
Today's blog post talks about how to convince the lender to waive it.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
PMI companies are notorious for asking for promissory notes. The reason they ask for them so much is because there is no risk in doing so.
If the home is foreclosed upon, then they will have to pay a claim for the … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: A Common Short Sale Mistake Being Made On Ridgewood Short Sales - 04/08/11 02:03 AM
Ridgewood NJ - I see a lot of agents making mistakes on short sales property valuation. Lenders hire a supposedly impartial third party to value the property.
Many of these people are evaluating 10 properties a day. There is very little quality control and usually no one checks their work.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
Because of that, I always try to meet them at the home when they are doing their inspection. I explain the history of the property and why it is selling for that price.
The lender will … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sales: A Common Myth On Escalating A Short Sale File - 04/07/11 02:35 AM
Ridgewood NJ - We see a lot of agent's going about escalating a file the wrong way. It reminds me of the appeals process game in death row.
Everyone has to go thru the appeals process. It drags on for years and years. After a while it simply becomes a game. I don't want to see short sale escalation turn into a "game."
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
Treat the Short Sale Escalation Process like a sales process. Don't treat it like just another technical process that you do for no … (2 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sales: The Lender Won't Approve The Short Sale. Now What? - 04/06/11 04:40 AM
Ridgewood NJ - If you are doing short sales, then you must learn how to escalate a file. Here's why.
Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
What do you do when the house isn't selling for any more money, but the bank keeps on rejecting the offers? You can give up, but then the seller loses the house to foreclosure.
Ouch! Why not escalate the file and get it approved? Here's an example of how it worked for the Stop Foreclosure Institute.
We had a house on the market for 4 months. … (0 comments)

ridgewood real estate: Ridgewood Short Sales: Yes, you can get a $3,000 check for short selling your home - 04/04/11 07:19 AM
Ridgewood NJ - If you are looking to short sale your home, then I have some good news for you. Thanks to a new government program, HAFA, you can get paid to participate in a short sale.

Discover how other sellers successfully did a short sale to avoid foreclosure by clicking here.
If your loan qualifies for the HAFA program, then you may be eligible for a number of financial incentives. You can get up to $3,000 to help with moving costs.
Even better is the stipulation that you will be completely released from the first mortgage debt. No deficiency … (0 comments)